Hundreds of employees affected by Sam's Club closures

By Roy N. Kent, rkent@hcnonline.com

Published
10:56 am CST, Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Employees at a pair Houston Sam's Clubs are looking for jobs after the retail giant abruptly closed their stores.

The store at 13331 Westheimer Road is losing 145 employees, according to Texas Workforce Commission documents. Walmart, the parent company of Sam's Club, notified the TWC on Jan. 10 of the store's impending closure with an official layoff date of March 16.

The store at 1615 South Loop West is sending 170 employees back into the workforce after notifying the TWC of the store's closure on Jan. 11. The official layoff date is March 16.

A third Houston-area store is closing in New Caney, with 155 employees out of work.

Nationwide, the Arkansas-based members-only wholesaler began closing 63 stores in the first couple weeks of the year. The company is reportedly diverting its resources to e-commerce.

Websites for each of the closed stores leads to an error message on www.samsclub.com.

According to the company, the action was taken after a thorough performance review.

"Transforming our business means managing our real estate portfolio and Walmart needs a strong fleet of Sam's Clubs that are fit for the future," said John Furner, president and CEO of Sam's Club. "We know this is difficult news for our associates and we are working to place as many of them as possible at nearby locations."

Walmart announced it will provide support and resources to affected employees. The company claimed it was paying bonuses to all employees up to $1,000, 60 days of pay and severance packages to those eligible.

Furner said in October that the company was looking to build more online fulfillment centers in 2018. Twelve of the closed stores will be converted into these centers. The first of the eCommerce fulfillment centers will be located in Memphis, Tenn.